Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 21, 2026

A Simple and Inexpensive Method for Determining Cold Sensitivity and Adaptation in Mice
Published on: March 17, 2015
NompC TRP channel required for vertebrate sensory hair cell mechanotransduction
Samuel Sidi1, Rainer W Friedrich, Teresa Nicolson
1Max-Planck-Institut für Entwicklungsbiologie, Spemannstrasse 35, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Abstract:
The senses of hearing and balance in vertebrates rely on the sensory hair cells (HCs) of the inner ear. The central element of the HC's transduction apparatus is a mechanically gated ion channel of unknown identity. Here we report that the zebrafish ortholog of Drosophila no mechanoreceptor potential C (nompC), which encodes a transient receptor potential (TRP) channel, is critical for HC mechanotransduction. In zebrafish larvae, nompC is selectively expressed in sensory HCs. Morpholino-mediated removal of nompC function eliminated transduction-dependent endocytosis and electrical responses in HCs, resulting in larval deafness and imbalance. These observations indicate that nompC encodes a vertebrate HC mechanotransduction channel.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Thermosensation
Nociception
Mechanically-gated Ion Channels
Spinal Cord: Information Processing
Sensory Information Processing
Sensory information processing begins at the sensory receptors located in the skin and other tissues, which detect somatic sensory stimuli such as touch, temperature, or pain. These receptors function as catalysts, initiating...
Overview of Somatic Sensory Pathways
The somatosensory system is divided into three main pathways: the dorsal (or posterior) column-medial lemniscus, spinothalamic (or anterolateral), and spinocerebellar pathways.
The dorsal...
Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

